Light emitter devices, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or LED chips for example, are often packaged within surface mount device (SMD) housings. These housings are often made of plastic and can be referred to as plastic leaded chip carriers (PLCCs). The housings can also comprise a body formed from a ceramic material. Conventional SMD housings feature an LED chip wirebonded to one or more metal leads. The metal leads of the SMD package serve as a channel for supplying the LED chip with electrical power and, at the same time, may act to draw heat away from the LED chip. Metal leads typically utilize metal portions extending from the package body, thereby increasing the overall footprint and cost to manufacture the package.
Heat is generated by the LED chip when power is applied to the chip to produce light. Some of the heat generated by the LED chip may be dissipated by the plastic or ceramic package body; however, most of the heat is drawn away from the LED chip via the metal components, or other elements of high thermal conductivity, comprising the LED package. Plastic and ceramic housings can be limited in the amount of heat that can be thermally conducted away from the LED chip, and can result in inefficient thermal management. As such, plastic and ceramic housings must rely on additional thermal components such as for example, thermal slugs or heat sinks comprising a thermally conductive material to draw heat away from the LED package. Conventional LED packages which include the heat sink, mounting components (leads), and wirebonded LED chips can all result in decreased package performance. For example, wirebonding can decrease reliability and brightness of a LED package while conventional package bodies have higher thermal resistance, thereby relying on incorporation of additional thermal components. The additional components in addition to the processes required to form the body of the SMD housing results in high manufacturing costs.
Consequently, there remains a need for improved light emitter device packages, modules and methods that overcome or alleviate shortcomings of the prior art light emitter device packages, modules and methods.